Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 55, no. 1411: March 30, 1895

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JfflTcli 30.18i>5 Record and Guide. 497 ' ^li©@»l€ti - - - Ow^ ^ ^ ESTAQUSHED-^MARpHSlti^ISeS. ,DeV&TID to f^L ESTWT. @U!LD!f(G Aflpl^'lTECTURE ,t{aiiSEl(OlD DEOCB|^Krft Busn/Ess A(& Themes orGEjfei^lllftERpsi.. PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS. PubOshed every Saturday. TBLKPHONB,......OORTLANIW 1370 Oommiinloatlone ehould be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. I, 7, LINDSEY. Bualneaa Manager. .Brooklyn Office, 276-282 Washington Street, Opp. Post Offiob. " Entered at the Post-office at Hfea York, If. Y.. as second-class matter." Vol. LV. MARCH 30, 1895. No. 1,411 For Brooklyn matter, see Brooklyn Department immediately following New Jeraey records {page 527), rTiHE stock market has some of the aspects of an old-fashioned -1- ball market. Espected reactions do not corae, but instead a duUneaa, ultimately broken by a movement in some special quarter, as, for instance, in the recent caaes of Reading and AtchiBon. Public attentiou is likely to be drawn soon to the |faeto£ the business that is beiug done iu briugiug tlie Uuited States 4's recently placed in Londou back to this side, American buyers seem willing to pay more for them than English holders value them at, aud certain housesheiv are eucouragingthe pref¬ erence, lujview of the occasion that necessitated tbe issue of these bonds, and tbe im'*ortauce of keeping as many of out securities on the other side .,o ^ ossible, this is neither busiuess iu its broad seuso nor patriotism. A thirty-year United States government 4 per ceut bond, free of taxes, is a good thiug to have, no doubt, even at cuirput quotations, but a better thiug at jthe present momeut would be to make foreigners see this fact, instead of chasing a few dollars, regardless of the consequences |to the tiuaucial coudition of the country. Regarding trade con- iditious, the improvement continues to^bc all, oi-uearly all. East, |lf anything were wanted to emphasize this fact, it could be found in receut reports of railroad earnings, which ahow that iwhile Pennsylvania, Reading, Three C's and other properlies jeastof tlia Mississippi are making good showings, Burlington, St, Paul aud Northwest make quite bad oues. Matters are prob¬ ably not quite so bad iu the Southwest, hut earnings there as yet show uo substantial recoveries, though they do not outdo the record of last year, which, however, was a very poor oue. Two j years agothcblataucyof the West gave expression to a wish that that uart of the couutry might be divorced from the East. Crop failures, and a divisiou of sentiment in matters of currency, have brought about a separation in a certain sense, and our Western friends have now a taste of what would befall them if their wish was gratified. EUROPE has more demaud for money, so that the hoards in the great banks are showing some signs of diminishment; not enough yet to influence discount rates, though that is pos¬ sible in the uear future. Business ou the exchanges is expand¬ ing ; itis not ouly governmeutbonds that are in demaud, but investors are also looking favorably ou things that caunot be classed high, evidently with the thought that the tide ia turned and they are good for a few years atleast, and iu the meautime will not only pay interest, but yield a proht by rising prices as well. The signal for this chauge wasthe improvement of coudi¬ tious ou this side of the Atlantic. The;United States experienced the last of the cycle of national calamities and happily is uot the last to recover, but her po.sitiou is so importaut that there was no real confidence anywhere uutil she showed at least some ability tocope withherdiflBcuIties. The Argeutioa, which began the trouble, have also settled dowu to better things apparently, aud other countries will doubtless soon fall iuto line aud the world get back into normal conditions again. This is, of course, presuming that our currency troubles cure themselves, or a cure is fouud for them by Congress. Notwithstanding the btiying of Americans by Europe, capital there will always be kept iu miod of tho dangers which our currency preseuts by the finaucial iournals. German capital is doing its best to deter the goveru- iraeut at Berlin from calling a uew bimetallic conference, urging [that such a step would throw doubt ou its intention to main- itain a gold standard and thereby work harm to the trade of the 'Empire. Australia, it seems, is to be lifted from the depths of her iudu.strial desolation by theaame ageucy that built up the : country origiiijujv, that of gold. In 1894 the Melbounie mint I received the largest .'>mount of auy year; receipts have risen without break in the last-iour years. At Sidney the result was (lot so good, though quite encouraging. The product forthe Australasian colonies for the year was slightly under 2,000,000 ounces, with the probabilities f.avoriug an increase iu 1895, principally owing to the developmeut of the Western Australian fields. While referring to gold it is interesting to note that tbe Raud output of January was 177,463 ounces, compared with 149,814 (muces, the theu phenomenal output of Jauuary of last year, aud that of February 169,295 ounces, compared with 151,- 870 ounces in the same mouth of 1894. Tne iucreaae for the two months is over 15 per cent. The Atchison Plan, THE part that Atchison securides have taken in the recent advauceof Chestockmarketiudicatesthattheirholders, and particularly those who owu the stuck, are satisfied with the plan of reorganization as at presert oullined aud published. The advance of tho stock in the face of an announcement that a ten per cent, assessment will be put upon it, clearly shows that Ihere are people who have great faith iu the future oti the system, even if these people are ideutified with the underwriting syndi¬ cate. Syndicates, like individuals, only put out their money in the expectation that it will return with sorauthiug added in the way of profit. In thisin.';tancc the confidence must be great and well founded when they will pay $1,600 for 100 shares of the new coramon stock and ten sbares of the new preferred stock. We may now take it for granted that this is what they will get for their $1,600. So far the plan as announced is imperfect iu many particulars. It is reported, with a conHdeuce in such quarters that it almost amounts to an official announcement, that $25,000,000 firstlien 4 per cent bonds are to be authorized aud issued at the rate of not more than $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 per annum for future equipment and improvement requirements; $150,000,000 of new general 4's are to be issued, $99,000,000 for old 4's, at the rate of 75 per cent of the latter ; $51,000,000 new income 4'b to be issued to compensate old 4's for loss of principal, aud in satisfaction of accrued interest at the rate of 40 per ceut of old 4'8; $110,000,000 new preferred to be used, $96,000,000 to take up and adjust assessment aud interest of old A aud B bonds and $10,000,000 to be given for an assessmeut of $10 per share ou the outstanding common stock, which is also to receive new common face for face. The assessments on common stock and A and B bonds will realize $13,600,000, with whieh presumably the floating debt and other claims, estimated to be in the neighborhood of $12,000,000, will be disposed of, leav¬ ing net earnings uuembarrassed by any charges on those old accounts, and the new company with a satisfactory workiug balance nf cash to begin operations with. So far the announce¬ ment concerns the Atchison proper only, aud no indication ia giveu of what arrangements will be made to retain the ,St. Louis & San Francisco, Atlantic & Pacific aud Colorado Midland in the system. Presumably there are $50,000,000 of new genei'al 4's and $4,000,000 of uew preferred stock with which to cany on these negotiations, less certain amounts reserved to take up funded uotes, etc. Another poiut which remains in doubt is what disposition is to be made of the uet earnings which have been made by the receivers and amounting to betweeia $6,000,- 000 and $7,000,000. If the surplus after payment of taxes, rentals, aud interest ou the funded notes, etc., is put iuto the property they ought to turn over to the new company a road in first-class conditiou, both as regards roadbed and equipment. Light will doubtless be thrown on this point flhen the report of the receivers appears. They have been in office now about fifteen months, and a statement of the working of their charge for at least the first twelve would appear to be about due. CriUcisms made on tho plau have been contined to tbe change in the status of the general i's and the total amouut of securi¬ ties it is proposed to issue. The first is a very hard case. These bonds were purchased in the belieE that they were investment bonds having ample security for priucipal in the property lien and for iuterest in the margiu of net earnings over and above their requirements. Mr. Stephen Little showed how the buyers had been deceived. The Reorganization Committee were, of course, only justified in accepting the hard facts and necessities of the system in preparing their plau. The volume of securi¬ ties it is proposed to issue is calculated to meet the common ob¬ jection of security holders to auy cutting down of tbe face value of their holdings, and it is dryly stated by oue of the committee that aplanthat didnot meet the approval of security holders would not be of much service. If there be au excess of pro¬ posed capitalization such excess carries uo fixed charge, and therefore will uot menace the stability of the new company. The chief objection to such streams of stocks and bonds is the greater difficulty they present to the maintenance of values in times of depression thau issues of moderate proportions. It may be taken for granted, too, that whenever the time comes, if it doea come, when dividends can be paid on the preferi'ed stock that the total market value of $50,000,000 of stock pay¬ ing two per cent would be greater than $100,000,000 of stock payinar one per cent, for the reason that a condition that might